ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE MELTING POT—STEWART 327 
is necessary to consider the European groups entering into the mixture. 
Diversity in Europe.—As Boas pointed out in 1922: 
It would be an error to assume that the intermingling of different Buropean 
groups is a unique historical phenomenon which has never occurred before. On 
the contrary, all European nationalities are highly complex in origin. Even those 
most secluded and receiving the least amount of foreign blood at the present 
time have in past times been under entirely different conditions. 
[For example] in Great Britain * * * thereis * * * clear evidence 
of a large number of waves of migration. In prehistoric times we find a long- 
headed type, quite different in appearance and in customs from a later round- 
headed type. With the beginning of historic times we observe first Roman coloni- 
gation, then waves of migration entering Great Britain from all parts of the North 
Sea, from Scandinavia and northern Germany, and, finally, the influx of the 
Normans. With this event extended migration ceased and the population of the 
island was gradually welded into the modern English. 
The long continued stability of European populations which set in with the 
beginning of the Middle Ages and continued, at least in rural districts, until very 
recent times, has brought about a large amount of inbreeding in every limited 
district. [Pp. 181-182, 184.] 
Because of such a history, Europe’s peoples present great physical 
diversity. For instance, stature varies on the average in different 
parts of Europe over 7 inches, the tallest people being in the north and 
west (fig. 8) ; head shape varies over 15 index units, the roundest heads 
being in the south-center and east (fig. 9) ; and pigmentation ranges 
all the way from light blond to dark brunet with corresponding strati- 
fication from north to south (fig. 10). Accordingly, the early immi- 
grants into the United States, being from the northern and western 
parts of Europe, were predominantly tall, long-headed blonds; whereas 
the later comers, being from the southern and eastern parts, were 
mostly short, round-headed brunets. Of course, there are exceptions 
to this generalization. 
STUDIES UNDER GOVERNMENT AUSPICES 
Immigrants——Here in America comparatively little effort was 
made to study the immigrants on arrival. During 1908-9 Boas 
undertook to investigate the physical characteristics of immigrants 
for the United States Immigration Commission. <A total of 17,821 
subjects from 3 years of age and up were measured. These were 
divided into national groupings. Since there were over 700,000 im- 
migrants admitted in 1908 and again in 1909, and about 30 national 
groups of Europeans are recognized by the Immigration Commission, 
it will be seen that Boas’ sample was pretty small. Nevertheless, this 
small sample led Boas to an important biological discovery, namely, 
§In 1913-14, through Hrdlitka’s efforts, some measurements were taken on immigrants 
arriving at Ellis Island. The number examined scarcely exceeded 500. Average measure- 
ments divided into 12 national groups are listed in Hrdlitka’s ‘The Old Americans” (1925). 
